Improvement in potato-diggeb



@uitrit vtextesgetint ffirt.

ELIJAH REX'F R1), .or M'i'tN'ro-R., onto.

Letters Patent No. 64,708, dated M'ay 14, 186i. i

IMPROVEMENT 1N rorsrofmeern.

.To ALLWnoM 1T MAY efoNeERN:

De it known that I, ELIJAH REXFRD, AotMentor, in vthe county of Lake, andl State of Ohio, haveinv'ented a new and improved Hand Potato-Digging Machine; and Ido hereby declare'that' the following is a f ull and exact description thereof, referene 'beinghad to the aeeompanying drawings, in whi'ch'--` Figure 1 is a view in perspective of my'said niachine. v

Figure 2, a plan or top view;' and 4 Figure 3 a vertical section through the line a-b, iig. 2.

Tliesame lettersrefer to similar parts .i'n all the drawings.

y This invention is an improvoment'on the class of agricultural implements known as hand p otato-diggers,- and embodies a novel modeior operatinga set of .tines which are thrust into the potat'hill, lifted up, vibrated,

and then drawn-back to discharge the potatoes, the nieehanisni being supported on wheels provided with a and ratchet arrangement, and thesaid operation of digging, &c.', per formed b y the aid of lever power. It is -simple and eilicientin all'its parts,and-cane'manufaetured Vat little cost, andwill materially lessen the labor of potato digging byfhand.; The folloiving isa description of 'its constructonand operation:

-Ais an axl'eltree supportedl onv a pair of wheels, B B. On said axle-tree are secuedtwo guides, C C, onl

the forward e'nds'oi` "which 'is' mo'rtisedl aiperforated rail, D. The digging fork, as seen fully in g. 2, consists r`.of' 4a headllAv and set nt' tinesi'F. The said head'E's notched vat'iwts extremities. and fits on the inside of the guides C C, on which it slides freer.l il' The 'said tines are'passed through the perforations of the 4rail D. On the-V fiipper faceof the said guides are secured' two isprng-eatolles', Gr and G". The left-hand catch G has a notch, H,

to admitl the end of theffoxkhead E; the other catch, 'has a shoulder, I. On' the, inside of the wheels B 'is a `ratchet-wheel,QT, and supportedA-Qn blocks K are pawls, L, .To the head of the fork is securedja 'stoutl handle, M, jbysvw'hicli the machine isdriven andworked. v v

' The Voperation is thus: The fork being drawn back to the position shown `in iig. 3, the attendant drivesthe machine towards a hill and brings the points of the tines `in contact with' it;` he'then pushes back the spring G so as to release the head E from the notch; he then-forces the tines into and through the hill by a thrustof the handle, which brings the tines in the position shown by the dotted lines in iig. 3; he then depresses ,the

iliandle soas to bring the fork about horizontal, takingup the contents lof theI hill with-the vines and loose soil, 'rer'nov-,ing the vines by the harid hc vibrates the fork' by means of the handle to screen the earth, &e`., from the potatoes.l lWhen this is done he pulls back 'the fork toits former position, and the potatoes are dropped from ther tineson the ground. He then passes on to'thenexthill andrepeats the operation. The use oi'- the lratchet and pawl is to'prevent the wheels turning at the moment the fork isvdrawn'back, as just explained.

It aube sessant the labor of lifting the contents of the mundane with muchaei1itysna'liaie am. tion, which is due to the leverage by which'the fork is brought upth e axle-tree acting as a fulcrum.

' What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isf 1. The mode of vsupporting the fork, as described, s o that it can 'be operated in the peculiar niannerset -forth by means of *the guides C C, notched head E,'sprin'geatches G G", perforatedrail'D, ratchet and pawls' J L, andv'handleM, or by means equivalent th,erto,rn.s and 'forthe purposes stated. ,2; Spportingthe guides C C, and perforated rail D, which' carries the'said fork on the axle-treeA and wheels'BB, whereby I ,ant enabled to use said axle-tree as ajfu-lcrum forraising the saidfork withit's contents,l

as ect forth. 'p

ELIJH REXFQRD. s Witnesses:

J. F. SINGLE,

M. S; HARVEY,` 

